Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 7, 2019; 25(9): 1050-1066
Published online Mar 7, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i9.1050
Reaction of antibodies to Campylobacter jejuni and cytolethal distending toxin B with tissues and food antigens
Aristo Vojdani, Elroy Vojdani
Aristo Vojdani, Immunosciences Lab., Inc., Los Angeles, CA 90035, United States
Aristo Vojdani, Cyrex Labs, LLC., Phoenix, AZ 85034, United States
Aristo Vojdani, Department of Preventive Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92354, United States
Elroy Vojdani, Regenera Medical, Los Angeles, CA 90025, United States
Author contributions: Vojdani A performed the majority of the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the article; Vojdani E also performed some of the experiments and helped in the preparation of the article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have checked the manuscript according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Aristo Vojdani, MSc, PhD, Doctor, Reader (Associate Professor), Research Scientist, Immunosciences Lab., Inc., 822 S. Robertson Blvd., Ste. 312, Los Angeles, CA 90035, United States. drari@msn.com
Telephone: +1-310-6571077 Fax: +1-310-6571053
Received: November 15, 2018
Peer-review started: November 15, 2018
First decision: January 11, 2019
Revised: January 16, 2019
Accepted: January 26, 2019
Article in press: January 26, 2019
Published online: March 7, 2019
Processing time: 112 Days and 9.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The bacteria Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) is commonly associated with Guillane-Barré syndrome (GBS) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but studies have also linked it with Miller Fisher syndrome, reactive arthritis and other disorders, some of which are autoimmune. It is possible that C. jejuni and its toxins may be cross-reactive with some human tissues and food antigens, potentially leading to autoimmune responses.

AIM

To measure the immune reactivity of C. jejuni and C. jejuni cytolethal distending toxin (Cdt) antibodies with tissue and food antigens to examine their role in autoimmunities.

METHODS

Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methodology, specific antibodies made against C. jejuni and C. jejuni Cdt were applied to a variety of microwell plates coated with 45 tissues and 180 food antigens. The resulting immunoreactivities were compared to reactions with control wells coated with human serum albumin (HSA) which were used as negative controls and with wells coated with C. jejuni lysate or C. jejuni Cdt which served as positive controls.

RESULTS

At 3 SD above the mean of control wells coated with HSA or 0.41 OD, the mouse monoclonal antibody made against C. jejuni showed moderate to high reactions with zonulin, somatotropin, acetylcholine receptor, β-amyloid and presenilin. This immune reaction was low with an additional 25 tissue antigens including asialoganglioside, and the same antibody did not react at all with another 15 tissue antigens. Examining the reaction between C. jejuni antibody and 180 food antigens, we found insignificant reactions with 163 foods but low to high immune reactions with 17 food antigens. Similarly, we examined the reaction of C. jejuni Cdt with the same tissues and food antigens. The strongest reactions were observed with zonulin, intrinsic factor and somatotropin. The reaction was moderate with 9 different tissue antigens including thyroid peroxidase, and reaction was low with another 10 different antigens, including neuronal antigens. The reaction of C. jejuni Cdt antibody with an additional 23 tissue antigens was insignificant. Regarding the reaction of C. jejuni Cdt antibody with different food antigens, 160 out of 180 foods showed insignificant reactions, while 20 foods showed reactions ranging from low to high.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that C. jejuni and its Cdt may play a role in inflammation and autoimmunities beyond the gut.

Keywords: Campylobacter jejuni; Cytolethal distending toxin; Tissue antigens; Food antigens; Autoimmune reactivities; Cross-reactivity

Core tip: In a search for a possible mechanism for the involvement of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) in irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, reactive arthritis, Guillane-Barré syndrome and other disorders, we examined the immunoreactivity of C. jejuni-specific antibodies with a variety of human tissues and food antigens. We found that C. jejuni antibodies showed a significant level of immune reaction with many human tissues and food antigens. These results may open new avenues of research in investigating the role of this bacteria in multiple autoimmunities beyond the gastrointestinal tract.